Taking the dive into PC building

[Yygdrasil]

Re: Taking the dive into PC building

What?

I second this. What?

[Raydeus]

Re: Taking the dive into PC building

He is probably exaggerating, but good ventilation can indeed affect system temperatures dramatically.

[Aeni]

Re: Taking the dive into PC building

I think he meant it dropped it to 45-50c and not dropped it by 45-50c ...

Going by Absentia's list, I wouldn't spend $150+ on any power supply unless it's rated over 1200W and at that point you have to question why you need so much power in the first place. You can get comparable Corsair or Cooler Master PSUs for under $100. If you're not planning on SLI or Crossfire, 500W is more than enough for your needs (There's an excellent article over at AnandTech which goes into depth on debunking this myth of requiring "large" power supplies for even multiple GPU builds) thus saving you over 1/2 what you actually need to spend. Use the savings in getting more ram, getting a better motherboard or getting an SSD (instead of that listed hard drive) since I'm going to assume you already have a SATA drive or two and don't actually need another one especially with the way prices have skyrocketed in recent weeks due to the flooding in Thailand a couple of months ago.

[Absentia]

Re: Taking the dive into PC building

I'm not exaggerating. My 470 ran extremely hot, keeping my temps while gaming over 90c. Now when I game it's hovering around 40-45c give or take.

[Raydeus]

Re: Taking the dive into PC building

Whoah. o_O

But yeah, good airflow makes worlds of difference.

[Melody]

Re: Taking the dive into PC building

Motherboard is where the guts of your computer go. I've been having my eye out on an ASUS computer for quite some time. I like running with at least 4-8 GB's of RAM. Keep clear of AMD processors, they're known to EAT UP CPU usage. Also stay away from Toshiba/Dell. If anything try to go for Alienware 'PARTS' I cannot stress that enough, people get mistaken for computers and end up ლ(ಠ益ಠლ)'ing. Also if you're going to look for the parts, look up Sager Alienware. Not Dell Alienware. Dell parts are shoddy, and are more or less annoying to deal with in the long run in terms of power supplies/cooling systems. I owned a Dell Latitude, didn't last me three months before the power unit on the damn thing fried. I wasn't paying Dell squat so I just tossed the thing, no need to salvage parts from a horrible company. As for Toshiba their laptops can't take a beating. I do believe they uses a ton of fiberglass, not sure. I personally like the Ienovo choice, stuck with it since they were IBM, haven't let me down since. :D

[Aeni]

Re: Taking the dive into PC building

Some nice advice for pre-made or factory assembled PCs but the OP is soliciting advice for DIY builds.

Etra should look into SSD hard drives. There's never been a better time to dive into this and I doubt SATA drives will remain viable for too much longer (at the very least, they still remain an attractive choice where it concerns $/TB cost analysis but performance always carries a higher premium)

[Etra]

Re: Taking the dive into PC building

Some nice advice for pre-made or factory assembled PCs but the OP is soliciting advice for DIY builds.

Etra should look into SSD hard drives. There's never been a better time to dive into this and I doubt SATA drives will remain viable for too much longer (at the very least, they still remain an attractive choice where it concerns $/TB cost analysis but performance always carries a higher premium)

My main concern with price effectiveness when it comes to storage is the skyrocketing price of the parts. Should I wait to build the PC until that flooding disaster gets worked out or should I spend the extra money? A new PC isn't something I need right now, but it's something I would like to build before summer.

[Melody]

Re: Taking the dive into PC building

Well you can make it a project I guess. I personally dislike building computers, it's even worse to build a laptop. -_- Pieces get lost, frustration, stuff won't fit into drives. It's a headache.

[Hayde]

Re: Taking the dive into PC building

For the most part, the flooding prices have not affected SSD's; I've seen tons of SSD's go on sale lately...128GB Samsungs, Crucial's, and so forth going for roughly $150 USD which IMO is a great price.

[Raydeus]

Re: Taking the dive into PC building

I guess they only made the HDD over there. o_O

And while the flood and the awful HDD prices suck I think this may be pretty good for SSDs. Since a lot of people will probably buy those instead of the overpriced HDD. I know I would.

[Etra]

Re: Taking the dive into PC building

I will definitely start building my new PC once I get all my tax crap done for the year and see how much money that'll pull in for me, as well. :3

Thanks again. :D

[Aeni]

Re: Taking the dive into PC building

My main concern with price effectiveness when it comes to storage is the skyrocketing price of the parts. Should I wait to build the PC until that flooding disaster gets worked out or should I spend the extra money? A new PC isn't something I need right now, but it's something I would like to build before summer.

Since this is a project and you don't need a new PC right now, why don't you acquire the parts piecemeal over time? Some motherboards are not going to be available once the stock has been sold out. While there is truth in the accepted belief that technology matures over time and prices will go down, I don't seem to find the same with motherboards. You can look at a particular brand and model and see 3 iterations of it where the original was the best and the series get worse with each new release. That has happen numerous times to the point where you have to do the legwork with research, identify the particular motherboard that fits your budget and anticipated needs and then take the plunge before it sells out. This happens with graphic cards as well. Also, since memory prices have hit rock bottom, I think once inventory gets balanced in the books, the supply and demand will once again shift and prices will go up before too long. I see memory prices as being cyclical, albeit inconsistent.

Buy your power supply, case and the like first, then each component based on their "shelf life" as priority, from least to the most often updated as your more recent purchase. If you're worried about RMA and return policies, get the case first and any extra fans you will need and you can "test" them right away. Power supply can also be tested in your current rig for integrity (or just that it works, you usually have a year for servicing from use) That's generally 25% of your budget, depending on what you're buying.

Then generally put aside money each month as if you've purchased a product and as you get towards some particular point in time where you want to start assembling, get the rest of your parts. Motherboards are probably the most volatile of those items, and while I'd have purchased one ahead of my own upgrades to ensure I have one, you may not accept that risk. That's fine, but just remember that these things go out of stock really fast, especially for good ones (Usually they tend to be the first revision or even the original of a series, because the later versions will have much of the quality pared down in order for the company to reduce cost and reap the highest profit margin)

This also includes unlocked processors, like K series i5/i7. They tend to be limited runs and hoarded by vendors to be resold at higher prices to late-coming enthusiasts.

[Zempten]

Re: Taking the dive into PC building

how do you know if your i5/i7 is unlocked?

[ShepardG]

Re: Taking the dive into PC building

how do you know if your i5/i7 is unlocked?

Fairly certain the Proc nomenclature will have a designator.

I like building PC's. Personally for me, where I splurge is on the motherboard, and Case. I dont' run dual moniters, or even 30inchers with 16xAA or AS. I try to keep my build prices around 1200-1500, and usually replace/upgrade my stuff every 2-3 years. I also like to make sure I spend some extra cash on nice accesories like Razer Mouse/G15 Keyboard/Razer Nostromo (great for FPS, MMO, DOTA type games)

I honestly just got a really nice wireless headset, with a mic built in, and there were alot of options, however, I ended up getting a Logitech 510, which isn't "techniqually" made for the PC. It's designed to be used with Xbox,ps3, however it does include the option to hook up to a computer.

I'm probably going to be looking into getting a new laptop this year instead of building a new pc, as mine is pushing 3-4 years old now.

I honestly love my current case, but it's a full tower, mega nice coolermaster about 2 years old, however has all the nice bells and whisltes that still hold up to current cases (minus usb3.0) My motherboard is getting a bit dated, however, and If i do any changes that would probably be my next upgrade.

With that said, I want something a bit smaller. I'm moving to turkey, and leaving behind a 2000sqft house for something along the lines of 12-1300 sqft ><.
As far as power supply, that's usually something i don't skimp on either.
Honestly, the things i do skimp on are Video card, RAM, and HDD.
I currently have a 120g SSD, and a 500g 7200rpm data drive. It's honestly plenty of space as I keep alot of my stuff on portable hard drives.
I just got a 560Ti video card from bestbuy for $260, and i think i have 8 gig's of ram. Got a i7 920 that I got around 2009, it's the first gen so it's older but suffices for my needs. My power supply is a 750watt which is plenty for even dual 560ti's but I just have never had the need to run dual vid cards.

Slightly off topic, I've seen a couple of Laptops on the market now, that have HDMI INPUTS, as opposed to just outputs, which interests the hell out of me for deploying and taking an xbox or ps3. I searched and searched and they litterly have just started to include these on some select laptops.